The Last Train Home
by Rie Sonomura
Summary: Snake-centric fic where he reflects on his time in the previous tournament, and the bonds he made along the way. Revised on November 26, 2015.


**So yes, here's a little Snake fic I wrote. There may be some hints of Snake x Samus and very, very vague Samus x Little Mac.** **This is inspired by the song "Last Train Home" by Pat Metheny Group.**

 **In this fic I'll also make subtle hints to actual Smash development circumstances without sounding all fourth-wall-break-y. Yeah. And sorry if some MGS-related details are off, I haven't played too many MGS games.**

 **Smash Bros. belongs to Nintendo, Snake belongs to Konami (which is seriously going down the drain right now imo), and the song "Last Train Home" belongs to Pat Metheny Group.**

* * *

 ** _The Last Train Home_**

A cool breeze blew in the quiet night, tossing over old newspapers lying in the streets of Smash City. The moon shone brightly, obscuring all the stars. Solid Snake looked up at the moon, standing on the boarding platform at the train station a short distance from Smash Tower. All the lights were out as everyone had called it a day, and Snake thought it best to leave in the dead of night. He was holding the handle of his draggable suitcase in his right hand.

"You know," he mumbled, his breath briefly visible in the cold weather, "seeing the city again on the way over here was strangely nostalgic. Even if it may be the last time I see it..."

Earlier that day, Snake was notified that he couldn't participate in the upcoming tournament due to his contract ending early under various circumstances. He didn't need to know the reasons why; he was a mere mercenary for hire, essentially a drifter. Even when whatever organization he was employed with disbanded under any circumstance, another coalition would seek his services. His personal adage was "a mercenary's work is never done," and it held true even now. For the time being, he would be staying at a vacation home on the coast of the city, where Wolf, Red and his other two Pokemon, and the Ice Climbers were staying. If the Smashers Council decided he wouldn't be coming back at a later time, he would go back to his own world, like Pichu and Young Link did. At this point, it seemed Popo and Nana would have to go back home too.

As for Snake, he had conflicting feelings about going home, naturally. Being a hired soldier was his duty. However, during his days in the previous tournament, he made what he considered "comrades". He didn't like to use the word "friends", as to him, there were no "friends" on the battlefield, only comrades, brothers in arms, whatever other term you prefer. Nevertheless, he could not deny the bond he shared with the other Smashers.

Realizing the train would arrive in a few minutes, Snake took his smartphone out of his pocket and browsed through his contacts. Some of the names on his list were Captain Falcon, Luigi, Mario, Ike, and Samus. Falcon was his first acquaintance and former roommate at Smash Tower. Ike was another person Snake had great respect for, not just for his fighting style but also because the stories of his bravery and victories in numerous wars piqued Snake's interest. Snake would also hang out with the Mario brothers on occasion, especially Luigi.

As for Samus...Snake greatly admired her like no other, even once telling Otacon she was "his type of woman". A revered intergalactic bounty hunter, she came from a past riddled with tragedy and hardship, much like himself, and was tasked with taking down various threats from across the universe. Of everyone in Smash Tower, Snake felt connected to Samus the most. In fact, he had thoughts of maybe asking her out on a date, but he was too afraid to do so, on the occasion that his duty would summon him to the other battlefield once again.

 _Heh..._ He thought. _That Mac kid joined the others several months ago...I believe if anyone truly deserves her, it's him. ...be good to her for me, kid._

Scrolling down on his list of contacts, he was surprised to have someone else as a contact - Sonic, who was at the time another fighter on special contract to join the Smash tournaments. And unlike Snake, Sonic was allowed to stay for the next one, joining two new contract fighters, Mega Man and Pac Man. Snake was actually glad those two were accepted into the tournament, as he recognized their fighting abilities.

However, Snake wasn't always on such good terms with Sonic. He couldn't explain it so well himself, but they just didn't get along well too often.

"Why is he on my contacts?" He murmured as he opened up Sonic's contact page. However, as his thumb hovered over the Delete Contact button, he hesitated. After a few seconds he instead pressed the back button, leaving Sonic still in the list.

"I shouldn't do that. At this point, I don't know if I'll see any of them again..."

Almost immediately after putting his phone away, the whistle of the train grew louder and the headlights brighter as it reached the boarding platform and eventually came to a stop. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small picture. It was a photo of himself with all of the other Smashers from the previous tournament, with Samus standing by his side. The smiling faces of all the people he had met, the people he fought with and against, greeted him. He'd miss them. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd miss them. The small amount of time he spent in this place, for whatever it was worth, was special.

Maybe he'd never come back.

Maybe he'd never see them again.

He felt a strange aching, but he pushed it down. His time was up. The whistle was blowing. He turned his gaze towards the city he'd known he would leave behind someday. When they woke up, would they miss him? Would they wonder where he went?

None of it mattered now.

He didn't even say goodbye, he only sighed as he turned and boarded the last train home.

 ** _Fin_**

* * *

 **Alright, so here's the explanation. Since it seems Mewtwo, Lucas, Roy and Ryu are most likely the only pre-ballot characters for DLC, Wolf and Snake's chances may depend on the ballot (the Smashers Council here). And given the situation with Konami and Hideo Kojima right now, Snake is in a reeeeally bad spot. As for the Ice Climbers possibly "going back home", Sakurai said they had to be cut due to technical issues on the 3DS (probably common knowledge by now), but also that their series had "no future". I really don't expect Young Link or Pichu to return either.**

 **I'm still hoping for Snake to return, but it feels like with each passing day the chances grow bleaker and bleaker. He seems to be one of the top most voted for candidates on the ballot, too. I guess only time will tell...**

 **Let me know what you think. As usual, helpful critique is welcome.**

 **Revised on November 26, 2015**


End file.
